• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
A drawing of John Carroll as a student at the College of English Jesuits in Saint-Omer, France, will be the basis of a sculpture to be created by artist Marine de Soos. (Ann M. Augherton/Special to the Review)

French Catholic school had profound impact

November 8, 2017
By Christopher Gunty
Filed Under: Behind the Headlines, Blog, Commentary

As boys growing up in the American colonies, Daniel, John and Charles Carroll had it better than most. They came from affluent families – families considered, in a later book, “Princes of Ireland, Planters of Maryland.”

In the early 1700s, Protestant settlers in Maryland had overtaken the Catholic settlers, and made the practice and teaching of the Catholic faith in the colony nearly impossible. In response, some Catholic families decided that the only way to ensure a solid foundation for their boys was to send them abroad.

Daniel Carroll of Rock Creek, born in 1730 and one of only five people who signed both the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, first arrived at the College of English Jesuits in Saint-Omer, France, in 1742 and studied there for six years.

Daniel’s brother, John Carroll (b. 1735), and cousin, Charles Carroll of Carrolton (b. 1737), followed in 1748. John became a priest and eventually was named the first bishop in the United States in 1789 when the Diocese of Baltimore encompassed the original 13 colonies. Charles was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.

In “Lands of Promise: From Saint-Omer to Maryland,” a book in English and French, Clarisse Cervoni notes, “Throughout their education, including at the College of English Jesuits of Saint-Omer, the young Carrolls adopted the humanistic vision of their peers, which would later incite them to defend their rights and the modern democracy to come, and to finally achieve what their Irish ancestors fled their lands for.”

At the official opening of the Chapel of the Jesuits as a new secular arts and performance space in Saint-Omer Oct. 14, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori noted the school held a great place in the formation of his predecessor Archbishop Carroll.

“He recognized that one of the greatest needs for the Catholic community (in the United States) was schools and this is why one of his first major initiatives was the establishment of Georgetown University. When drawing up plans for the college, it is clear that he modelled the program after Saint-Omer,” the archbishop said.

That dedication to education continues in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where schools provide a potential turning point in the lives of students, not just for the affluent.

As with the Carroll families of centuries past, families today make the sacrificial choice to enroll their children in Catholic schools for the top-notch educational standards and the chance to be immersed in a values-based curriculum.

The archdiocese provides more than $2.8 million annually in tuition assistance and other support to families and schools through the Partners in Excellence program. Parishes provide an additional $4 million in tuition assistance.

The recent recognition of four schools in the archdiocese as National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence attests to the high quality of our Catholic schools. Overall, 15 of our schools have received this recognition since 2010, and 25 since the program started in 1982.

The well-rounded education helps students such as those at Ss. James and John in Baltimore, now celebrating its 170th year of serving students. And it provides creative opportunities for students such as those at Cardinal Shehan School, whose choir has gone viral with its rendition of Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”

Gone are the days when a Catholic education was not allowed in Maryland. As we embrace the present options for Catholic education, let’s also look to the future to ensure that many more students – from affluent families or not – have the chance for an education that prepares students to contribute well to society in the generations to come.

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Christopher Gunty

A Chicago-area native, Christopher Gunty is associate publisher/editor of The Catholic Review and CEO of its parent publishing company, The Cathedral Foundation/CR Media. He also serves as a host of Catholic Review Radio.

He has spent his whole professional career in Catholic journalism as a writer, photographer, editor, circulation manager and associate publisher. He spent four years with The Chicago Catholic; 19 years as founding editor and associate publisher of The Catholic Sun in Phoenix, Ariz.; and six years at The Florida Catholic. In July 2009, he came to Baltimore to lead The Cathedral Foundation.

Chris served as president of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada from 1996 to 1998, and has traveled extensively learning about and reporting on the work of the church, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Haiti, Poland, Italy, Germany and finally in 2010 visited the Holy Land for the first time.

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

The Beauty of Mass in the Gym

Exquisite pizza, the school year winding down, and a shopping day (7 Quick Takes)

In honoring anti-Catholic activists, L.A. Dodgers strike out

10 Easy ways to grow in your faith this summer

Question Corner: Are our intentions actually remembered at the shrines we donate to?

| Recent Local News |

CEO, authors, NFL coach take part in Catholic college commencements

Connect program centered on empathy, listening

RADIO INTERVIEW: How to grow in your openness to the Holy Spirit

Archbishop Lori announces eight appointments

Archbishop Lori ordains six to transitional diaconate

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Dioceses wake up to youth mental health crisis, helping parents, teachers and pastors take action
  • The Beauty of Mass in the Gym
  • Exquisite pizza, the school year winding down, and a shopping day (7 Quick Takes)
  • Experts hail U.S. surgeon general’s social media warning for youth mental health
  • As COVID’s emergency phase ends, Catholic experts share takeaways for the church
  • Missionary of mercy priest: ‘Be Christ to all people’ in a world ‘hungry for the Word’
  • Florida Catholic wife, mom, doctor involved in sainthood causes says Eucharist is central to all she does
  • Nun’s incorruptible remains highlight rich heritage of Black Catholics in U.S., say experts
  • Under surveillance, government pressure, China needs prayers, observers say

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED